Homeister adds to her win total at Colonial Downs

NEW KENT After an eventful career built on winning race after race at nearly 40 miles per hour, and coming around the final turn at Churchill Downs on Derby day, Rosemary Homeister has found peace in New Kent.

"I love it here because it's very laid back and quiet," she said. "The track is in the middle of the trees, and it's a great environment."

Homeister is the third-winningest female jockey of all time, and she'll likely move into second before she leaves Colonial Downs this summer. She also could be the top jockey of this year's meet - she was one win behind Sheldon Russell entering last night's races.

The competitive fire still burns after 2,108 victories, but she's also learning to enjoy everything that comes her way. After retiring in 2004, she returned to the sport two years later with a new attitude.

"I never thought I would come back, but I'm so glad I did," she said. "I'm taking advantage of it more, being single with no kids gives me the opportunity to travel."

She's still based out of Florida, where she grew up and where her parents were jockeys, but she's traveled to 15 racetracks in the past year, including one in Canada.

For the summer she's set up shop at Colonial Downs, where she wakes up at 6 a.m. to work with the horses and try to get rides with the day's top horses. She's a regular rider who in her biggest night of the season won four races.

Every victory gets her one closer to Patricia Cooksie's 2,137, though the top spot in the female jockey rankings safely belongs Julie Krone, who has passed the 3,500-win mark.

Homeister has been racing her whole life, but she still picks up new fans every day at the track who get behind the female jockey.

"There's always going to be the stigma of 'It's a man's sport,'" she said. "But there's definitely more respect now if you show you can ride."

Her respect has been won, like it is for most jockeys, the hard way. She rattles off a list of injuries that includes broken hips, a twice-broken arm, a shattered nose and a mangled left pinkie.

For now she's enjoying being a part of the camaraderie among the Colonial Downs jockeys, including Russell, who is challenging her for the top spot at the track.

She doesn't have any immediate plans to retire, and if her last two stints away from horse racing are any indication, it wouldn't last long. Aside from her 18 months off in 2004, the only other time she's been away from horse racing was when she left for college to study computer programming. She laughs at the memory - it lasted six months before she came back to the track.

In her last downtime she got her real estate license, which she's holding on to as a backup plan.

But for the next month, she's right where she feels most comfortable - at the track, riding another horse to victory.

Contact Michael Phillips at (804) 649-6546 or .